How do we envision the Future School with a focus on play, technology, learning, and movement?

It’s not about technology versus learning; instead, it’s about how we combine play, technology, learning, and movement. If screens are used solely for entertainment, they become irrelevant and may not necessarily have a place in education.

Today’s children and young people are deeply engrossed in gaming, and therefore, we see that gamification holds significant potential in education and should not only be seen as a leisure activity. Integrating gaming into education doesn’t have to be limited to classrooms. Instead, gamification can lay the foundation for play and movement, increasing engagement and motivating students, ultimately improving learning outcomes. Moreover, consistent research shows that incorporating play and movement in education enhances children’s ability to remember and perform better.

When implementing new technologies in the school of the future, we need not only focus on classrooms. There is also vast potential in examining common areas such as schoolyards, cafeterias, libraries, and specialized classrooms. Rethinking the computer room as a digitized specialized classroom is an option where teachers have the opportunity to utilize new learning tools like robots, virtual reality, augmented reality, and other interactive learning possibilities. Today, there are many educational technologies (EdTech) that optimize play, movement, and learning. Research demonstrates that combining these elements offers several benefits in the physical, cognitive, and social development of individual children. The question now is how to strike the right balance.